Smokendave34 is basicly like playing myself the first 2 turns heheh. This works out nice as I will be playing vs MT as russian in the future.

In the north standard stuff, delaying at Pskov. I will not spend any ap's or shift any troops into armys until turn 4. I should be able to balance stuff out by turn 6. Plug up north and the Hoooper defence of Leningrad.

I actually would consider garrisoning Odessa with a decent force, esp. including some tank or motorized units - a few counters here and there aren't going to make a difference in the primary fronts, and depending on whether or not he bypasses Odessa, you may be able to make a raid on his rail lines with the motor forces. At a minimum, you can get cheap wins against the allies if he sends them there.

I like to think of the Soviets in '41 as a game of trying to maximize the number of points where you can fight on relatively even terms. Anywhere else and you are just pocket bait.

I always drop 3 rifle divisions in Odessa to force the Axis to divert at least an infantry corps to clean it out; once it is clear that they are diverting those forces, then I evacuate the garrison to Sevastopol.

The Romanians can't do this by themselves, they need the help and this keeps the Germans honest and moving forces in the wrong direction (south rather than east.)

How many games do you have going right now? 10? It's pretty impressive to say the least.

Just 5, its about right for me.

Turns come in about so I can do one then another pops up. Only takes me about 1-3 hrs to do a turn (2-17) after that most turns can be done in 45 to 90 mins or less during mud. Turn 1 vs MT i did in less then 60 mins heheh done it so many times now.

The 1 SHC game is taking me 2x as long as GHC games right now as I really am 100% going on throery.

GHC games I basicly have a feel how things will play out by turn 4 based on the SHC moves. Then I ajust my tactics to achieve my min goals for 41.

ORIGINAL: Pelton ...with mech/tank/cav screen then a infantry line or checker board.

Personally I screen with rifle divisions, or better, brigades, as they are expendable. I try to keep my cav and tank units a bit further to the rear to pierce pockets and to keep them in better shape for the blizzard O.

South: I will try and hold river until turn 7 then retreat east slowly, 3 hexes a turn with mech/tank/cav screen then a infantry line or checker board.

My advice would be to not use the cavalry in this manner. No sense having them take constant dings to their morale. You want them as happy as can be come December. You also don't want to get them herded into mini-pockets.

I've made several mistakes in my current game (we're in Jan '42 now, but the AAR is behind), but the biggest was losing any cavalry after the first two weeks. Cavalry units pay one less MP for entering enemy hexes, and during first winter Soviets pay one less MP for entering enemy territory. Let your cavalry dig in the rear area, but be available to surge forward and cut off any overly adventurous panzers before retreating again during the summer and fall.

I'm trying out my new theories on blizzard offensive now, and its it going pretty well. Let the infantry make the initial hole in the line, then move up the cav corps to hasty any units that retreated that turn. If you can pair the corps you can be almost certain of victory against a recently displaced unit in the open (at least in December), but you can also usually get an additional rifle division into the stack to contribute. Leapfrog the next cav corps pair and repeat the hasty attacks against the fleeing Germans. This will let you quickly amass victories for Guards status as well. Don't try to get by with too little in the attack! A failed attack, especially with the cavalry, means losses you just don't want sapping your momentum. Sometimes I do launch 'spoiling attacks' that I don't expect to win before a major attack that I do expect to be sufficient, but never with the cav corps. Once the cav corps have made a decent push and cleared the hexes in front of them I pour in the tank brigades to establish contact with the enemy (attrition, fatigue, and extra cost to disengage) and screen my cav corps so they can rest and hopefully get more replacements than they would on the frontline. If the Germans want to try and attack the brigades they can, that means they're not running away as fast and they take a morale penalty for fighting during the First Winter. Brigade losses are usually light (seems on the whole a better proposition than attrition costs born by rifle divisions filling the entire front line).

I built ski battalions this time for my cavalry corps, but they don't seem to have made much impact. I'll be curious to see how many reach guards status and provide a better punch in the winter of '42 (when the soviets don't have First Winter modifiers to CV)

I rarely bull straight toward my objectives in winter, preferring to hit the Germans where they are weakest (so I can get victories!) and after 3 or 4 weeks compelling a general withdrawal as the strategic precariousness of the objective crystallizes. If they're too slow in making the general withdrawal from the objective, so much the better - Siberia is always in need of tourists!

South: I will try and hold river until turn 7 then retreat east slowly, 3 hexes a turn with mech/tank/cav screen then a infantry line or checker board.

My advice would be to not use the cavalry in this manner. No sense having them take constant dings to their morale. You want them as happy as can be come December. You also don't want to get them herded into mini-pockets.

I've made several mistakes in my current game (we're in Jan '42 now, but the AAR is behind), but the biggest was losing any cavalry after the first two weeks. Cavalry units pay one less MP for entering enemy hexes, and during first winter Soviets pay one less MP for entering enemy territory. Let your cavalry dig in the rear area, but be available to surge forward and cut off any overly adventurous panzers before retreating again during the summer and fall.

I'm trying out my new theories on blizzard offensive now, and its it going pretty well. Let the infantry make the initial hole in the line, then move up the cav corps to hasty any units that retreated that turn. If you can pair the corps you can be almost certain of victory against a recently displaced unit in the open (at least in December), but you can also usually get an additional rifle division into the stack to contribute. Leapfrog the next cav corps pair and repeat the hasty attacks against the fleeing Germans. This will let you quickly amass victories for Guards status as well. Don't try to get by with too little in the attack! A failed attack, especially with the cavalry, means losses you just don't want sapping your momentum. Sometimes I do launch 'spoiling attacks' that I don't expect to win before a major attack that I do expect to be sufficient, but never with the cav corps. Once the cav corps have made a decent push and cleared the hexes in front of them I pour in the tank brigades to establish contact with the enemy (attrition, fatigue, and extra cost to disengage) and screen my cav corps so they can rest and hopefully get more replacements than they would on the frontline. If the Germans want to try and attack the brigades they can, that means they're not running away as fast and they take a morale penalty for fighting during the First Winter. Brigade losses are usually light (seems on the whole a better proposition than attrition costs born by rifle divisions filling the entire front line).

I built ski battalions this time for my cavalry corps, but they don't seem to have made much impact. I'll be curious to see how many reach guards status and provide a better punch in the winter of '42 (when the soviets don't have First Winter modifiers to CV)

I rarely bull straight toward my objectives in winter, preferring to hit the Germans where they are weakest (so I can get victories!) and after 3 or 4 weeks compelling a general withdrawal as the strategic precariousness of the objective crystallizes. If they're too slow in making the general withdrawal from the objective, so much the better - Siberia is always in need of tourists!

i do nearly the same thing in the center like you with 3-4 armies with 3-4 sapper rgt. for each of them under the command of reserve front digging infront of moscow but i let em create a 3 lines deep level 2 fort without space between the fort lines.

i find letting 10 km between 2 fort lines makes it easier for the german player to create pockets but it's a personal decision.

As far as industry goes I have saved everything other then the 18 that I give away west of rivers. I have to move some stuff still but everything looks to be safe and will be out NP as GHC advance is slow.

"We are going to attack all night, and attack tomorrow morning..... If we are not victorious, let no one come back alive!" -- Patton WITE-Beta WITW-Alpha The Logistics Phase is like Black Magic and Voodoo all rolled into one.

North: I am blocking the right hook heavly so Leningrad is taost. The right hook is more then doable and threatens Moscow. So I plan on fighting up north on a large front and holding the river close to Leningrad. I am 100% sure he will send everything to center and not bother pushing east.